On June 7, 2015, a witness found a mattress blocking the door of a shop where he worked; he kicked the mattress away but a hand fell out of the cover

A 31-year-old Pakistani man pleaded not guilty in the High Court on Thursday to murder and preventing the lawful burial of a body.

Defendant Wahaj Fyaz, an asylum seeker, was arrested in 2015 after the body of his girlfriend, a 22-year-old Indonesian woman named Wiji Astutik Supardi, was found wrapped in a mattress in Changsha Street in Mong Kok in Kowloon, Sing Tao Daily reported.

The court heard that Fyaz and Supardi lived together on the rooftop of a building on Changsha Street. Supardi held a temporary Hong Kong identity card while awaiting approval for a refugee application. She used to work as a domestic worker.

A coroner’s report said Supardi suffered multiple injuries, old and new. It was believed she died after being attacked with a blunt object.

On June 7, 2015, a witness found a mattress blocking the door of a shop where he worked. He kicked the mattress away but a hand fell out of the cover, so he immediately called the police.

A constable surnamed Yan told the court that when he investigated the scene, he found the woman’s body swollen with maggots. Her personal belongings were intact.

After being arrested, Fyaz, the defendant, said he had had an argument with the woman. He slapped her on the face and kicked her on the ground. He admitted that both of them had used drugs.

Police arrested Fyaz two days after the murder at the Cafeteria New Beach in Tuen Mun in the New Territories. He was taking drugs with a friend in a women’s toilet, Sing Pao reported.